Storm clouds are gathering over America’s immigration detention policies, and Rep. Pramila Jayapal is leading the charge for dramatic change! The outspoken Washington lawmaker is set to roll out the latest version of the blockbuster Dignity for Detained Immigrants Act (DDIA)—aimed squarely at dismantling the Trump-era legacy of mass lockups and the booming private prison business, Newsweek snags exclusively.

Jayapal, who heads the House Immigration Subcommittee, let loose in a candid chat: ‘Detention numbers have exploded to outrageous levels,’ she fumed, slamming the billions funneled into corporate-run immigration jails. She pinned the staggering surge on President Trump’s second term, noting that ICE cells have become overcrowded with low-risk folks—think caregivers or legal residents without rap sheets—thanks to the administration’s relentless shakeup and the bombastic One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which passed back in July and instantly juiced ICE’s budget for more cages.

Before Trump’s return to the Oval Office in January, ICE’s population hovered at a hefty 47,000—already overshooting Congress’s allocation. Fast-forward to November: that number has ballooned to a jaw-dropping 65,000 detainees, according to ICE’s own stats. The culprit? Sweeping raids on cities, ironclad policies favoring detention over community monitoring, and a system that treats vulnerable immigrants like commodities in private, for-profit facilities.

Jayapal’s DDIA seeks to blow up that model. Instead of rubber-stamping detentions, her bill flips the script—a ‘presumption of release’ for nonviolent groups, with ICE forced to clear a much higher bar before tossing pregnant women, LGBTQ+ individuals, disabled persons, survivors of trauma, and other at-risk populations behind bars. The plan also puts private prison profiteers on notice: operations will be shuttered over a three-year transition as alternatives to detention take root.

Shocking stories of abuse and medical neglect, especially affecting kids, families, and marginalized groups, have set alarm bells ringing. Jayapal declared, ‘There are zero credible care standards and absolutely no real accountability in ICE facilities—worse than federal prisons, and those aren’t perfect either.’

She added a grim statistic for emphasis: since Trump reclaimed the presidency, at least 23 detainees have died in ICE custody, and the official figures don’t tell the full, grisly tale. With Jayapal’s reinvigorated bill hitting both chambers, the showdown over America’s immigration lockups is about to enter a new, high-stakes phase.